The girl, from Jharkhand, India, eats three times as much as a girl of her age and is said to love curries and biscuits.

The average weight of a 10-month-old child in the UK is 1st 4lbs - less than half Aliya's weight.

Her worried parents Shabana and husband Mohammad Saleem, 28, lost another daughter, one, after she also gained weight. Their son Ali, five, is a normal size.

Mum Shabana, 25, said: "A few months after her birth, she starting gaining weight. We had to buy her a new pair of clothes every two weeks because the old ones become too tight for her."

The enormous weight has put Aliya's life in danger, but the family don't have the money to get good enough medical care for her.

Her dad, Mohammad, 28, said: "We have tried our best, but we could only afford to take her to the local hospital.

Barcroft

"The doctors in the village could not tell us clearly what she is suffering from. We took Aliya to a doctor in Ranchi. After the check up the doctor suggested that we go to another city, but we couldn't afford that so we didn't take her."

The family, who earn £3 a day from Mohammad's job as a tailor, have struggled to get help for Aliya from doctors in Jharkhand, India.

Dr Krishan Chugh, a consultant in the capital, Delhi, said: "This could be a case of morbid obesity or even a hormonal imbalance.